In the past various different apparatus and methods have been utilized for effecting the edgewise deformation of a continuous lanced strip of generally thin ferromagnetic material into a plurality of generally helical convolutions thereof and accumulating such helical convolutions into a generally annular stack thereof so as to form an edgewise wound core for a dynamoelectric machine. Further, at least some of the aforementioned past apparatus and methods have been utilized to edgewise wind non-salient or distributed field cores of the usual type having teeth extending radially inwardly from a circumferential yoke section and also of the inside-out type with the teeth extending radially outwardly from the yoke section. Of course, the distributed field edgewise wound core has a relatively large number of teeth per helical convolution of the continuous lanced strip, such as for instance twenty-four teeth or more per helical convolutions, and such teeth are relatively narrow in width between the tips thereof and the yoke section.
Others of the aforementioned past apparatus and methods have been utilized to edgewise wind salient pole cores of the inside-out type with the salient pole pieces thereof extending radially outwardly from the yoke section. In comparison with the teeth of the distributed field edgewise wound core, the salient pole pieces of the salient pole edgewise wound core are appreciably fewer in number, such as for instance two, four, six or eight pole pieces per helical convolution, and the width or arcuate length of the salient pole pieces between the tips thereof and the yoke section may be appreciably greater than that of the teeth of the distributed field edgewise wound core.
It is believed, however, that some difficulties or problems may have been encountered in the past in attempting to edgewise wind a salient pole core from a continuous lanced strip of generally thin ferromagnetic material with the salient pole pieces of such salient pole core extending radially inwardly from a circumferential yoke section thereof. For instance, the bore defining free end edge on each salient pole piece of a four pole salient pole edgewise wound core may extend through an arc of up to at least about eighty-seven degrees about the bore of such core. Due to the above discussed relatively large width of the free end edge or tip of each salient pole piece, it is believed that interfering engagement of such salient pole piece tips on the continuous lanced strip with parts of the edgewise winding apparatus may have been encountered resulting in the aforementioned problem in past attempts to edgewise wind a salient pole core with the salient pole pieces extending radially inwardly from the circumferential yoke section. Another problem which may have been encountered in past attempts to edgewise wind a salient pole core is believed to be that such cores may not have had a generally uniform circumferential surface about the yoke section thereof.